System and method for internal structural defect analysis using three-dimensional sensor data

ABSTRACT

A method for structural analysis of an object includes generating scanned surface data of an object using a three-dimensional sensor and aligning a physical object model corresponding to the scanned surface data with a predetermined three-dimensional model of the object. The method also includes identifying an interference between a location of the aligned physical object model, optionally including any elastic deformation with an internal component within the three-dimensional model and generating an indicator of expected damage to the internal component.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for structuralanalysis using three-dimensional sensors, and, more particularly, tosystems and methods for identifying potential defects in componentswithin an object based on three-dimensional sensor data of the exteriorof the object.

BACKGROUND

Repair operations for complex objects, which include vehicles,structures, and industrial equipment, often require a detailedinspection of parts within the object. Frequently, an object that hasreceived damage includes visible exterior damage but the level of damageto components within the object is often difficult to determine withoutdisassembly of the object and manual inspection of the internalcomponents. For example, in some instances, exterior damage to an objectis confined to the exterior of the object, such as outer paneling orcasing, while in other situations the exterior damage concealsadditional damage to one or more components within the object.

Some invasive scanning systems, such as X-ray or magnetic resonancescanners, are known to the art for the detection of damage to internalcomponents within an object without requiring the disassembly of theobject. However, the use of intrusive scanners is often impractical inmany situations such as motor vehicle repair where a large X-ray scanneris impractical both due to the requirements for radiation shielding andbecause X-rays often do not penetrate metallic structures that arecommon to many objects. Thus, structural analysis of many objectsrequires partial or complete disassembly of the objects to enable manualinspection. Consequently, improvements to structural analysis systems toenable identification of potentially damaged internal components withoutrequiring intrusive sensors or direct manual inspection would bebeneficial.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method for structural analysis of an object hasbeen developed. The method includes generating with a three-dimensionalsensor surface scan data of an object, generating with a processor aphysical object model of a surface of the object with reference to thesurface scan data of the object, aligning with the processor thegenerated physical object model with a surface of a predeterminedthree-dimensional model of the object in a three-dimensional virtualenvironment, identifying with the processor an interference between thephysical object model aligned with the predetermined three-dimensionalmodel and a volume occupied by an internal component in thepredetermined three-dimensional model, the internal component not beingpresent in the sensor surface scan data of the object, and generatingwith an output device an indicator of expected damage to the internalcomponent within the object in response to the identification of theinterference.

In another embodiment, a method for structural analysis of an object hasbeen developed. The method includes generating with a three-dimensionalsensor surface scan data of a surface of an object, generating with aprocessor a physical object model of the surface of the object withreference to the surface scan data of the object, aligning with theprocessor the physical object model with a surface of a predeterminedthree-dimensional model of the object in a three-dimensional virtualenvironment, identifying with the processor a deviation between thephysical object model and the surface of the predeterminedthree-dimensional model, identifying with the processor an estimatedphysical force applied to the surface of the object to produce thedeviation, generating with the processor a simulated result ofapplication of the estimated force to an internal component within thepredetermined three-dimensional model, the internal component not beingpresent in the sensor surface scan data of the object, and generatingwith an output device an indicator of expected damage to the internalcomponent in response to the simulated result of application of theestimated force to the predetermined three-dimensional model exceeding apredetermined operating threshold for the internal component.

In another embodiment, a structural analysis system has been developed.The system includes a three-dimensional sensor configured to generatesurface scan data of a surface of an object, an output device, and aprocessor operatively connected to the three-dimensional sensor, theoutput device and a memory. The processor is configured to generate thesensor surface scan data of the object with the three-dimensionalsensor, generate a physical object model of the surface of the objectwith reference to the surface scan data of the object, align thephysical object model with a surface of a predeterminedthree-dimensional model of the object stored in the memory in athree-dimensional virtual environment, identify an interference betweenthe physical object model aligned with the predeterminedthree-dimensional model and a volume occupied by an internal componentin the predetermined three-dimensional model, the internal component notbeing present in the sensor surface scan data of the object, andgenerate an indicator of expected damage to the internal componentwithin the object in response to the identification of the interferencewith the output device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and other features of systems and methods forstructural analysis of object are explained in the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a structural analysis system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a process for operation of a structuralanalysis system to identify expected damage to internal componentswithin an object based on surface scan data from a surface of theobject.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another process for operation of astructural analysis system to identify expected damage to internalcomponents within an object based on surface scan data from a surface ofthe object.

FIG. 4 is a graphical depiction of a point cloud surface scan data and aphysical object model that is formed from the point cloud.

FIG. 5 is a graphical depiction of alignment between a physical objectmodel of an object and a predetermined three-dimensional model of theobject where a portion of the surface of the physical object modeldeviates from a corresponding surface of the predeterminedthree-dimensional model.

FIG. 6 is a graphical depiction of internal components within apredetermined three-dimensional model of an object and a graphicaldisplay of internal components that are potentially damaged due todeviations in the surface of the object identified in surface scan dataof the object.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For a general understanding of the environment for the system and methoddisclosed herein as well as the details for the system and method,reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, like referencenumerals have been used throughout to designate like elements.

As used herein, the term “three-dimensional virtual environment” refersto a simulated three-dimensional space that includes one or more modelsof three-dimensional objects. A digital structural analysis systemgenerates the three-dimensional objects with reference to geometric andother physical data that correspond to a real-world physical object. Thethree-dimensional models include both exterior components of the objectsand interior components. Examples of computing hardware and softwaresystems that utilize three-dimensional virtual environments andthree-dimensional models include three-dimensional computer aided design(CAD) systems. As described in more detail below, a structural analysissystem receives surface scan data that corresponds to a physicalinstance of an object and aligns the surface scan data with acorresponding three-dimensional model of the object in athree-dimensional object to identify expected damage to internalcomponents within the object.

As used herein, the terms “three-dimensional sensor” or “3D sensor” areused interchangeably and refer to a device that identifies the shape ofan exterior of an object in a three-dimensional space. Common examplesof three-dimensional sensors include laser detection and ranging (LIDAR)sensors, infrared ranging sensors, millimeter wave radars, stereoscopiccamera systems, pattern sensing and time-of-flight sensing systems likeMicrosoft Kinect, and the like. In digital processing systems, thethree-dimensional sensor generates surface scan data that identifydifferent locations on the surface of an object. For example, manythree-dimensional sensors generate a “point cloud” that includes a setof three-dimensional coordinates corresponding to each point in aplurality of points that the sensor detects on a surface of an object. Adigital structural analysis system uses the point cloud along withinterpolation techniques that are known to the art to produce athree-dimensional physical object model of the surface of a physicalobject in a three-dimensional virtual environment. As used herein, theterm “physical object model” refers to a three-dimensional model of allor a portion of the exterior surface of an object that a structuralanalysis system generates from a surface scan data of the object.

As used herein, the term “surface of an object” refers to any componentin an object that is exposed to the three-dimensional sensor during asurface scanning operation. For example, in a motor vehicle a body panelcorresponds to a portion of the surface of the motor vehicle. As usedherein, the term “internal component” refers to any component underlyingthe surface of an object that is not directly measured by thethree-dimensional sensor when scanning the object. For example, in amotor vehicle a section of the chassis that is positioned behind a bodypanel is an interior component that is not directly measured by athree-dimensional object sensor.

As used herein, the term “interference” refers to a physicalrelationship between a surface of an object from a physical object modeland an internal component in a predetermined three-dimensional model ofan object in which two elements in a three-dimensional model partiallyoverlap within the same volume or are within contact with each other inthe three-dimensional virtual environment in a manner that is not partof the design of the predetermined three-dimensional model. Anoccurrence of interference in a three-dimensional virtual modelindicates that two components in a physical object, such as an exteriorsurface of an object and an internal component within the object, havecollided and the internal component may be damaged.

FIG. 1 depicts a structural analysis system 100. The system 100 includesone or more three-dimensional sensors 104 that are operatively connectedto a digital processor 128. In many embodiments, the processor 128further includes multiple digital processing devices, such as one ormore central processing unit (CPU) cores, and one or more graphicalprocessing units (GPUs) that are operatively connected to each other toimplement the functionality described herein. The processor 128 is alsooperatively connected to a memory 132 and one or more output devices152. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the structural analysissystem 100 generates exterior surface scan data of a motor vehicle 102to identify expected damage to interior components in the vehicle 102with reference to deviations in surface scan data of the vehicle 102compared to a predetermined three-dimensional model of the vehicle 102.

In the system 100, the three-dimensional sensors 104 include one or moreLIDARs, RADARs, stereoscopic cameras, or any other suitable sensors thatdetect the shape of the exterior of an object, such as the motor vehicle102. In some embodiments the three-dimensional sensors 104 generatemultiple sets of surface scan data from different positions around theobject 102 to generate surface scan data of all or most of the exteriorof the object, while in other embodiments the three-dimensional sensors104 only generate the scanned surface data for a limited region ofinterest. For example, if the motor vehicle 102 has received front-enddamage during an accident, the three-dimensional sensors 104 generatescanned image data of the region of the front-end that includes thedamage and a region around the damaged exterior where the object doesnot include exterior damage.

In the system 100, the processor 128 includes one or more digitalprocessing devices, including central processing units (CPUs), graphicalprocessing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs) and the like that receive surface scan data from thethree-dimensional sensors 104. The memory 132 includes both non-volatiledata storage devices, such as solid-state and magnetic storage media,and volatile data storage devices such as random access memory (RAM).The processor 128 executes program instructions 136 stored in the memory132 to run one or more software applications to process the sensor scandata and three-dimensional models of the object 102. The programinstructions 136 include, for example, three-dimensional modeling andvisualization software that produces a visual representation of thesurface scan data and the three-dimensional object models. In someembodiments, the program data also include inventory data to identifyparticular components in the three-dimensional model of each object.

The memory 132 also stores three-dimensional model data 140 for theobject 102 that the three-dimensional sensors 104 scan during operationof the system 100. The three-dimensional model data 140 include apredetermined three-dimensional model of the object that includes bothexternal components, such as body panels on the motor vehicle 102, andinternal components for the components within the vehicle 102 that arenot directly detected by the three-dimensional surface sensors 104.Examples of predetermined three-dimensional models includethree-dimensional schematics for motor vehicles and othermulti-component objects that have sufficient precision to be used duringmanufacture of the object or individual components in the object. Thoseof skill in the art should recognize that the physical object modelsdescribed herein are generated with reference to the surface scan dataof a physical instance of the object and represent the “real world”shape of the exterior of the object, which may include structural damageor other deviations from the “ideal” shape of the predeterminedthree-dimensional model data.

The memory 132 also stores surface scan data of the physical object 144received from the three-dimensional sensors 104. In some embodiments,the three-dimensional sensors 104 generate a “point cloud” ofthree-dimensional coordinates that correspond to locations of differentportions of the exterior surface of the object 102. FIG. 4 depicts anexample of a point cloud 404 generated from the exterior of the vehicle102. The processor 128 performs an interpolation process to generatephysical object data 144 for the object 102 that corresponds to theshape of the surface of the object 102. As depicted in FIG. 4, thephysical object model 408 includes a three-dimensional geometric meshthat the processor 128 forms from the point cloud data 404 and aninterpolation process to generate a three-dimensional modelcorresponding to the exterior surfaces of the vehicle 102. The geometricmesh includes vertices where at least some of the vertices correspond topoints in the point cloud and edges connecting the vertices to form ageometric mesh. In some embodiments, the mesh is formed from a pluralityof polygons, such as triangles. The surface scan and physical objectdata 144 correspond to a three-dimensional shape of the exterior of theobject 102. As described in more detail below, in some instances thesurface scan and physical object data 144 deviate from thethree-dimensional model data 140, such as when the structural analysissystem 100 analyzes a motor vehicle that has received damage during anaccident.

The memory 132 also stores component simulation data 148. The componentsimulation data include data that specify the expected physicaloperational limits for one or more components or structural informationthat the processor 128 uses to perform a physical simulation ofcomponents in the object 102. For example, in one configuration thecomponent simulation data include specifications for multiple componentsin the object 102, such as the maximum shock and load forces that shouldbe placed on components in the object 102 during operation. As describedin more detail below, the processor 128 can detect that the object hasbeen subjected to a level of force that exceeds the physical tolerancesof the component. In another configuration, the component simulationdata 148 include additional material and structural configuration databeyond the shape and position information for each component in the 3Dmodel data 140. For example, the component simulation data 148 specifythe type of material that forms a component in the vehicle. Thestructural analysis system 100 simulates the response of the componentto an external force based on the size and shape of the component in thethree-dimensional model data 140 and the type of material that forms thecomponent from the component simulation data 148. The processor 128generates a physical simulation of the object being subjected to anestimated force using the component simulation data 148 to estimate ifone or more internal components in the object have been damaged due toapplication of the estimated force to an exterior of the object 102.

In the system 100, the output device 152 includes one or more graphicaldisplays that produce an indicator identifying one or more internalcomponents within the object 102 the damage expected from an identifieddeviation in the shape of the exterior surface of the object 102 fromthe expected shape for the surface that is stored in thethree-dimensional model data 140. In some embodiments, the output device152 generates an indicator in the form of a graphical depiction of thethree-dimensional virtual environment with the object 102 and theexpected damage to the interior components within the object 102 using athree-dimensional modeling graphical application. In other embodiments,the output device 152 generates an indicator in the form of a textlisting of internal components in the object 102 expected to be damagedincluding part numbers, stock keeping unit (SKU) numbers and othersuitable identifiers.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a process 200 for operation of astructural analysis system. In the description below, a reference to theprocess 200 performing a function or action refers to the operation of aprocessor to execute stored program instructions to perform the functionor action in association with other components in the structuralanalysis system. Process 200 is described in conjunction with the system100 of FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes.

Process 200 begins as the structural analysis system 100 generatessurface scan data and physical model data of the exterior of the object102 using the three-dimensional sensors 104 (block 204). As describedabove, the three-dimensional sensors 104 in the system 100 generate apoint cloud corresponding to three-dimensional coordinates on thesurface of the vehicle 102. The processor 128 receives the surface scanpoint cloud data and generates the physical object model based on thepoint cloud data as depicted with the point cloud 404 and physicalobject model 408 of FIG. 4.

Process 200 continues as the processor 128 aligns the physical model ofthe exterior surface of the object with the surface of thethree-dimensional model (block 208). As described above, the memory 132stores the three-dimensional model data 140. The processor 128 alignsthe physical model with the predetermined three-dimensional model using,for example, at least one registration feature that is common to boththe physical model and the predetermined three-dimensional model. Forexample, in the example of FIG. 1, the side-mirrors on both the physicalmodel of the vehicle based on the scanned sensor data and thethree-dimensional model serve as registration features that theprocessor 128 uses to align the models. The registration featuresinclude shapes that the structural analysis system 100 identifies inboth models. The system 100 uses one or more of the registrationfeatures to align the models in the three-dimensional virtualenvironment. The structural analysis system 100 selects registrationfeatures to serve as common references in regions of the physical objectmodel and the predetermined three-dimensional model that have little orno deviation from the shape of the predetermined three-dimensionalmodel. These selected features correspond to the same feature in thephysical object model and the predetermined three-dimensional model.FIG. 5 depicts a physical object model 504 of a motor vehicle that hasreceived front end damage in region 506. This alignment may use theseregistration features on the two surfaces or manually entered points toaid in the accuracy of the alignment. The alignment of the physicalobject model with the predetermined three-dimensional model of thevehicle 102 enables the processor 128 to identify regions of potentialinterference between the exterior and internal components within thevehicle. FIG. 5 depicts areas of potential interference with alignedmodels 508 and a damage region 506 that depicts locations where thesurface of the physical object model deviates from the surface of thepredetermined three-dimensional model of the vehicle.

Process 200 continues as the processor 128 identifies potentiallocations of interference between the surface of the physical model fromthe three-dimensional sensor scan data and the locations of one or moreinternal components within the predetermined three-dimensional object(block 212). In one configuration, the processor 128 identifies thelocations of vertices in the geometric mesh of the physical object modelwhen aligned with the predetermined model of the object 102. Thepredetermined three-dimensional model of the object 102 also includesgeometric mesh data for each of the internal components andthree-dimensional position and orientation data for the internalcomponents in the three-dimensional virtual environment. If any verticesof the physical object model lie within a three-dimensional volumedefined by the geometric meshes of any of the internal components withinthe predetermined three-dimensional model, then the processor 128identifies a location of interference between the surface of the objectand the internal components. The processor 128 optionally identifiesinterference if the location of the vertex in the geometric mesh for thephysical object model is located on or within a predetermined distanceof a surface of the geometric mesh model of the internal component inthe three-dimensional virtual environment. In another configuration, theprocessor 128 also identifies the occurrence of interference if anyedges between the vertices of the physical object model pass through orare tangential to the volume of the three-dimensional volume in thevirtual environment that is occupied by one or more internal componentsin the predetermined three-dimensional model.

During process 200, the structural analysis system 100 generates anoutput indicating internal components, if any, that are identified tointerfere with the surface of the physical object model (block 220).FIG. 6 depicts an exploded view of the chassis 604 that includesinternal components in the three-dimensional model of the vehicle. Inone embodiment, the processor 128 generates a graphical display of thelocations internal components within the object 102 that interfere withthe surface of the physical model. In the system 100, the output device152 generates the indicator in the form of the graphical display 608 ofthe three-dimensional virtual environment that indicates the locationsof interference between internal components within the vehicle 102 andthe surface of the physical object model. In alternative embodiments,the output 152 generates the indicator as a list of internal componentsthat appear to interfere with the surface of the physical object model.In other situations in which the surface of the physical object modeldoes not interfere with the internal components in the predeterminedobject model, the system 100 generates another indicator to indicatethat any deviations in the exterior surface of the object 102 do notappear to interfere with internal components. The indicator produced bythe structural analysis system 100 enables technicians to identify andrepair damage to the vehicle in an efficient manner.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of another process 300 for operation of astructural analysis system. In the description below, a reference to theprocess 300 performing a function or action refers to the operation of aprocessor to execute stored program instructions to perform the functionor action in association with other components in the structuralanalysis system. Process 300 is described in conjunction with the system100 of FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes.

Process 300 begins as the analysis system 100 generatesthree-dimensional surface scan data of the exterior surface of an objectand produces a physical object model for the object (block 304). Thesystem 100 performs the processing of block 304 in a similar manner tothe processing of block 204 that is described above. Process 300continues as the analysis system 100 aligns the physical object model ofthe exterior of the object based on the scanned sensor data with apredetermined three-dimensional model of the object (block 308). Thesystem 100 performs the processing of block 308 in a similar manner tothe processing of block 208 that is described above.

Process 300 continues as the processor 128 identifies deviations betweenthe physical object model of the exterior of the object and the exteriorsurface of the predetermined three-dimensional model (block 312). In oneembodiment, the processor 128 identifies deviations in the physicalobject model for the object 102 for any vertices in the physical objectmodel that are located beyond a predetermined tolerance range from thesurface of the three-dimensional object model. For example, the system100 generates an estimate of the force required to plastically deformthe surface includes estimation of elastic deformation using FiniteElement Analysis (FEM) based on the surface scan data and the types ofmaterials that form structures in the object stored in the componentsimulation data 148. The system 100 performs the FEM process to identifypotential damage to elastic and semi-elastic components within theobject 102, which can be deformed into internal structures damaging thenbut then partly spring back and not collide in the static condition. Inanother embodiment, the system 100 executes a CAD program to extract ashape using a geometric part comparison operation to identify thedifferences in shape between the surfaces of components in the scannedimage data and the predetermined three-dimensional model data 140 toidentify deviations between the expected shape of the component and theactual shape of the component.

During process 300, the structural analysis system 100 generates anestimation of a level of physical force that is required to produce theidentified deviation in the surface of the physical object model fromthe predetermined three-dimensional model of the object (block 316). Inone embodiment the processor 128 identifies the level of force as apredetermined function of the magnitude of measured deviation in thesurface of the object. For example, a vehicle that is subjected todifferent crash tests at predetermined velocity and force levelsreceives different levels of damage that produce different deviations inthe exterior of the vehicle. In one embodiment, the processor 128accesses a database of empirical crash test data to generate an estimateof the force required to produce the deviations in the exterior of thevehicle from the previously generated crash test data. In the system100, the component simulation data 148 optionally includes the databaseof empirical physical data corresponding to forces that produce givenlevels of damage and corresponding deviations in the exterior shape ofthe object 102. In another embodiment, the processor 128 performsiterative physical simulations with the three-dimensional object modelof the object 102 and the component simulation data 148 stored in thememory 132 to generate simulated damage to the exterior of the object102. The processor 128 identifies a level of physical force thatproduces damage with an exterior deviation in the shape of the objectthat approximates the actual scanned surface data for the physicalobject model to generate an estimate of the level of force that producesthe measured deviation in the physical object model.

Process 300 continues as the structural analysis system 100 performs asimulation of the effects of the estimated force that produced thedeviations in the exterior of the object on internal components withinthe object (block 320). For example, in the system 100 the processor 128uses the three-dimensional object model data 140 and the componentsimulation data 148 for the object 102 to perform a simulation of theestimated force that the object received. The simulation furtherincludes an application of the force at a particular direction andlocation on the object where the surface of the physical object modeldeviates from the surface of the three-dimensional object model. Usingthe example that is depicted in FIG. 5, the processor 128 applies theestimated force for a front end-collision to the region 512 on thealigned physical object model and predetermined three-dimensional modelto simulate the effects of an impact on the vehicle. In particular, thesimulation models the forces received by internal components that areproximate to the location of the force that produces the deviation inthe exterior of the physical object model, which have a greaterlikelihood of being damaged. The simulation also models the attenuationof force applied to internal components that are more remote from thelocation of the deviation in the exterior of the physical object modelto provide more accurate estimates of the potential to damage ofinternal components at different locations within the object.

In another embodiment, the processor 128 omits a detailed physicalsimulation of the impact force on the predetermined three-dimensionalmodel of the object. Instead, the processor 128 performs a simplifiedsimulation to identify the maximum operational force thresholds forinternal components that are stored with the component simulation data148. The processor 128 identifies any internal components within apredetermined radius of the location of the deviation in the exteriorsurface of the physical object model that have a maximum operating forcethreshold below the estimated force level as potentially being damaged.

After performing the simulation, the processor 128 generates an outputthat identifies one or more of the internal components with expecteddamage (block 324). As described above in conjunction with the process200, the system 100 generates an indicator with the output device 152that includes either a graphical depiction of a three-dimensionalvirtual environment with the internal components expected to be damagedwithin the three-dimensional model of the object 102 or a list ofcomponent identifiers expected to be damaged to assist in inspecting andrepairing any damaged internal components.

In some embodiments, the structural analysis system 100 performs one orboth of the processes 200 and 300 to identify internal components thatmay be damaged based on the measured surface scan data of the exteriorof an object. While the embodiments described herein are directed to astructural analysis of a motor vehicle, the foregoing embodiments arenot limited to motor vehicles but are applicable to a wide range ofobjects. Examples of objects that are suitable for analysis using theforegoing embodiments include, but are not limited to, aircraft, ships,industrial machinery, buildings, bridges, roads, and the like.

It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures, and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirablycombined into many other different systems or applications. Variouspresently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications,variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by thoseskilled in the art, which are also intended to be encompassed by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for structural analysis comprising:generating with a three-dimensional sensor surface scan data of anexterior surface of an object; generating with a processor a physicalobject model of the exterior surface of the object with reference to thesurface scan data of the object; aligning with the processor a firstportion of the generated physical object model that corresponds to afirst feature on the exterior surface of the object with the firstfeature on a surface of a predetermined three-dimensional model of theobject in a three-dimensional virtual environment; identifying with theprocessor an interference between a second portion of the physicalobject model that corresponds to a damaged region of the exteriorsurface of the object that deviates from the surface of thepredetermined three-dimensional model and a volume occupied by aninternal component in the predetermined three-dimensional model, theinternal component not being present in the sensor surface scan data ofthe exterior surface of the object; and generating with an output devicean indicator of expected damage to an internal component within theobject that corresponds to the internal component in the predeterminedthree-dimensional model in response to the identification of theinterference.
 2. The method of claim 1, the generation of the surfacescan data and physical object model further comprising: generating withthe three-dimensional sensor a point cloud including a plurality ofthree-dimensional coordinates corresponding to a plurality of locationson the exterior surface of the object; and generating with the processorthe physical object model including a geometric mesh corresponding tothe exterior surface of the object with reference to the point cloud. 3.The method of claim 2, the identification of the interference furthercomprising: identifying with the processor a location of a vertex in thegeometric mesh in the second portion of the physical object model;identifying with the processor a volume within the three-dimensionalvirtual environment for the internal component with reference to anothergeometric mesh corresponding to the internal component; and identifyingwith the processor the interference between the physical object modeland the internal component in response to the location of the vertex inthe physical object model being within the volume of the internalcomponent.
 4. The method of claim 2, the identification of theinterference further comprising: identifying with the processor alocation of a vertex in the geometric mesh in the second portion of thephysical object model; identifying with the processor a surface of theinternal component in the three-dimensional virtual environment withreference to another geometric mesh corresponding to the internalcomponent; and identifying with the processor the interference betweenthe physical object model and the internal component in response to thelocation of the vertex in the physical object model being on or within apredetermined distance of the surface of the internal component.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, the generation of the indicator further comprising:generating with the output device a graphical depiction of the objectand the internal component in the three-dimensional virtual environment.6. The method of claim 1, the generation of the surface scan datafurther comprising: generating with the three-dimensional sensor thesurface scan data of an exterior surface of a motor vehicle.
 7. Astructural analysis system comprising: a three-dimensional sensorconfigured to generate surface scan data of an exterior surface of anobject; an output device; and a processor operatively connected to thethree-dimensional sensor, the output device and a memory, the processorbeing configured to: generate the sensor surface scan data of the objectwith the three-dimensional sensor; generate a physical object model ofthe exterior surface of the object with reference to the surface scandata of the object; align a first portion of the physical object modelthat corresponds to a first feature on the exterior surface of theobject with the first feature on a surface of a predeterminedthree-dimensional model of the object stored in the memory in athree-dimensional virtual environment; identify an interference betweena second portion of the physical object model that corresponds to adamaged region of the exterior surface of the object that deviates fromthe surface of the predetermined three-dimensional model and a volumeoccupied by an internal component in the predetermined three-dimensionalmodel, the internal component not being present in the sensor surfacescan data of the exterior surface of the object; and generate anindicator of expected damage to the internal component within the objectthat corresponds to the internal component in the predeterminedthree-dimensional model in response to the identification of theinterference with the output device.
 8. The system of claim 7, theprocessor being further configured to: generate with thethree-dimensional sensor a point cloud including a plurality ofthree-dimensional coordinates corresponding to a plurality of locationson the exterior surface of the object; and generate the physical objectmodel including a geometric mesh corresponding to the exterior surfaceof the object with reference to the point cloud.
 9. The system of claim8, the processor being further configured to: identify a location of avertex in the geometric mesh in the second portion of the physicalobject model; identify a volume within the three-dimensional virtualenvironment for the internal component with reference to anothergeometric mesh stored in the memory corresponding to the internalcomponent; and identify the interference between the physical objectmodel and the internal component in response to the location of thevertex in the physical object model being within the volume of theinternal component.
 10. The system of claim 8, the processor beingfurther configured to: identify with the processor a location of avertex in the geometric mesh in the second portion of the physicalobject model; identify with the processor a surface of the internalcomponent in the three-dimensional virtual environment with reference toanother geometric mesh corresponding to the internal component; andidentify with the processor the interference between the physical objectmodel and the internal component in response to the location of thevertex in the physical object model being on or within a predetermineddistance of the surface of the internal component.
 11. The system ofclaim 7, the output device being further configured to: generate theindicator as a graphical depiction of the object and the internalcomponent in the three-dimensional virtual environment with the outputdevice.
 12. The system of claim 7, the processor being furtherconfigured to: generate the surface scan data of an exterior surface ofa motor vehicle with the three-dimensional sensor.